Donald Trump signed United States-Taiwan travel bill

Vastavam Web: U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed legislation that encourages the United States to send senior officials to Taiwan to meet Taiwanese counterparts and vice versa, angering China, which views the self-ruled island as a wayward province.The bill, which is non-binding, would have gone into effect on Saturday morning, even if Trump had not signed it, said the White House.Earlier on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang reiterated that Beijing was opposed to the legislation and urged the United States to abide by the “one China” policy, that stipulates that Taiwan is part of China, and cease official exchanges with Taiwan.

In a statement after Trump’s signing of the bill, the Chinese embassy said clauses of the legislation “severely violate the one-China principle, the political foundation of the China-U.S. relationship”.Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry expressed its thanks for the “friendly move” by the Trump administration, saying the government would continue to deepen its cooperation and partnership with the United States at all levels.

The United States does not have formal ties with Taiwan but is required by law to help it with self-defence and is the island’s primary source of weapons.“They don’t authorize these trips because the policy judgment is that the costs in relations with China would outweigh the benefits in relations with Taiwan,” Paal said.

The bill, which was passed by Congress last month, says it should be U.S. policy to allow visits at all levels. High-level Taiwan officials should be permitted to enter the United States “under respectful conditions” to meet U.S. officials, while Taiwanese economic and cultural representatives should be encouraged to conduct business in the United States.